Buffalo mayor announces write-in challenge to India Walton after losing primary

Buffalo, N.Y., Mayor Byron Brown (D) announced Monday that he will run in the city’s mayoral race later this year after a high-profile loss in the primary to self-identified socialist India Walton. 

“I am very proud to announce tonight that I will be a candidate for mayor as a write-in in the November general election,” Brown said at a press conference. “It is important to know that no election is completed, no election is completed, until the general election takes place.”

Walton, a nurse and community activist, clinched the Democratic nomination in the race earlier this month over Brown and Le’Candice Durham, a long-shot candidate. 

Brown conceded that remaining absentee votes in the primary would not hand him an eleventh-hour victory in the primary but maintained it is “important that every single vote be counted.”

Walton slammed the announcement by Brown and pressed him to abide by the results of the primary.

“We urge Brown to accept the will of the voters, end this futile campaign, and help us work towards a seamless transition. It would be a shame for Brown to ruin his legacy by partnering with right-wing real estate developers in this pointless effort. The people of Buffalo deserve so much better than this,” her campaign told WKBW.

The mayoral race gained national attention after Welton’s victory, which set her up to become the city’s first female executive and the country’s most high-profile socialist mayor.

Brown, who has served four terms in office, largely shirked debates in the primary and did not campaign heavily.

Walton has advocated for a slew of progressive policies, including instituting rent control, barring police from responding to mental health calls and declaring Buffalo a “sanctuary city.”